(Book Review)

A Kayaker’s Guide to Lake Champlain is not just a guide for kayakers, or for canoers or boaters; it’s a great all-around guide for anyone to Lake Champlain. Although the book is a perfect companion for any level kayaker, as it explores Lake Champlain; it will benefit anyone interested in this beautiful Lake Champlain that we are fortunate to share. Featuring Lake Champlain’s treasures and history from a lake-level view, the book’s personal stories and descriptions come to life, delighting the reader.

The book offers fifty chapters, each a one day’s paddle, and is broken into eight sections: the Champlain Islands, the Inland Sea, Missisquoi Bay, Broad Lake North, Malletts Bay, Broad Lake East, Broad Lake West, and South Bay. Each chapter describes the day’s trip- the weather, encounters with wildlife and the scenic beauty, while history and natural history are featured in separate breakouts. Each trip provides a very personal exploration of Lake Champlain.

Historically, A Kayaker’s Guide to Lake Champlain traces and describes of Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 visit to the lake that bears his name. It features the battles of Valcour Island and Plattsburgh, describes Lake Champlain’s importance in the French & Indian wars, the Revolution and the War of 1812. It shares a history of Native Americans, heroes, smugglers, shipwrecks and lighthouses, and a fossil history from the world’s oldest coral reef, when Lake Champlain was actually part of the sea. Present and future concerns are also addressed- issues like algae blooms, runoff, Eurasian milfoil, zebra mussels and endangered species.

A Kayaker’s Guide… is well-organized, and filled with information that even those of us who are not paddlers, but who love lakes, history, and wildlife, can appreciate. It offers a well-rounded overview of Lake Champlain, and added appendices include information about Lake Champlain’s environmental organizations, museums & historical places, wildlife areas, state parks, and launch sites. The book includes 54 maps, 93 photographs, and 9 original drawings.

About the Authors:

Cathy Frank is a former instructor at the Community College of Vermont, and is currently an independent computer consultant and Web-site designer. She has served as a member and chair of numerous nonprofit boards locally and regionally. A long-time summer resident of the Champlain Islands, she is a biker, hiker, swimmer, and cross-country skier. She kayaks daily in the summer, and has hiked the length of Vermont’s Long Trail.

Margy Holden has worked for nonprofit and for-profit corporations, and as an organizational development and career consultant. She has chaired and served on a number of nonprofit boards. She writes occasional articles and coauthored the ‘Women’s Job Search Handbook‘. Happiest when she is outdoors, Margy runs, hikes, bikes, paddles, and swims in the Champlain Islands in the summer and the Bahamas in the winter.

Margy’s and Cathy’s travels on Lake Champlain have been featured in presentations before organizations, on television, and in the local press. Both are committed to increasing awareness of Lake Champlain, its strengths, and its issues.